LES Strategic Plan 2025 - Report - Page 8
STRATEGIC PLAN DEVELOPMENT
The industry view of the electric grid of the
future
Today’s electric grid must evolve to meet community sustainability goals
while addressing emerging changes — from customer expectations
to climate resilience and cybersecurity. But LES isn’t the only entity
thinking of tomorrow’s grid. Planning for the electric grid of the future
is a challenge that requires immediate, coordinated action by everyone,
including policymakers, customers and utilities. Here’s why we must begin
investing in critical grid capabilities today:
By 2050, over 50% of U.S. electricity generation capacity
is expected to come from renewable sources.1 Tomorrow’s
grid must account for significant expansion of clean energy
generation across all levels — bulk, local and behind-the-meter.
Electricity consumption is projected to grow by approximately
50% by 2050,1 driven by the electrification of transportation, the
proliferation of data centers and broader digital transformation
across industries.
8
Tomorrow’s grid must be intelligent and flexible, leveraging
digitization, data analytics and artificial intelligence to balance
variable generation with increasing and dynamic consumption
patterns.
Without proactive management, peak electricity demand could
rise by as much as 400% by 2050.1 Unlike traditional loads, many
of these emerging demands will be more variable, with sharper
peaks, greater flexibility in timing and, in some cases, mobility.
This shift presents both challenges and opportunities. Strategic
planning and advanced technologies will be essential to manage
these dynamic load patterns, mitigate these surges and maintain
grid stability.
The electric grid of the future must be significantly more resilient
than today’s grid to withstand extreme weather events and cyber
threats. This includes modernizing transmission and distribution
infrastructure and deploying energy storage at scale.
1. PA Consulting market analysis Q1 2025
